Selective Removal of Chromium From Type 304 Stainless Steel By Air-Contaminated Lithium Available to Purchase

The corrosive action of high-purity and air-contaminated lithium on Type 304 stainless steel has been studied in non-isothermal closed systems in which maximum and minimum temperatures were 1500 F and 800 F. Chromium is selectively removed to depths of 10 microns from the surface of stainless steel by air-contaminated lithium at 1500 F and remains dissolved in the lithium where it is soluble to the extent of at least 25 percent. The other steel constituents arc mass transferred in their original relative proportions and deposited as strongly magnetic dendrites. The preferential leaching of chromium is proposed as the initial step in the corrosion of stainless steel by air-contaminated lithium. 6.25